Pull tabs for a flexible plastic bag

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a plastic bag for a storage and transporting of items comprising: a body portion; an opening at one end of the body portion; a zip enclosure, where said zip enclosure seals the opening; and two pull tabs, where said two tabs lie at the top edge of the plastic bag above the zip enclosure and extend from the edge to provide a mechanism to open the plastic bag. The pull-tabs are positioned off center from each other in order to clearly separate the tabs. In one particular embodiment, the pull-tabs create a half-moon shape.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to pull-tabs developed for a flexible plastic bag for providing a means to expand and open the bag.

2. Description of Related Art

Plastic bags are a common device used in particular for shopping and shopping-related activities. For the most part plastic bags usually are used to transport goods and grocery items to a household and may be reused for general activities in the household. Some of the heavier plastic bags are specifically designed to be reusable and have stiffer reinforcement in key areas. Plastic bags are principally made of polyethylene and are normally lightweight and flexible, yet strong enough to hold the contents. Some plastic bags are dispensed directly at the grocery store where they are pulled off a reel or a roll of plastic bags for individual use. Because of the lightweight and flexible nature of these plastic bags it is sometimes difficult to expand and open the bags in order to insert the contents. Many times the user must use moistened fingers or friction to open the bags for use.

Some plastic bags have been developed to include tabs to assist in the opening of a flexible plastic bag. U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,657 discloses an easily opened and re-closable bag for packaging snacks that includes an unsealed area that facilitates separation of a seal without tearing the bag. Another example of a flexible bag is enclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,273 which discloses a pinched bottom opened-mouth bag having a pinched-bottom flap folded over upon and adhered to one wall of the bag with a tab for tearing the flap open inserted in its inner end between the walls of the bag, folded to overly the flap and the outside of the other wall and will easily adhere it to the other wall.

Further improvement is needed to make use of flexible bags that provide adequate means for opening the bags for use, especially plastic bags that are dispensed in a flat compressed form via a roll.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a plastic bag for a storage and transporting of items comprising: a body portion; an opening at one end of the body portion; a zip enclosure, where said zip enclosure seals the opening; and two pull tabs, where said two tabs lie at the top edge of the plastic bag above the zip enclosure and extend from the edge to provide a means to open the plastic bag. The pull-tabs are positioned off center from each other in order to clearly separate the tabs. In one particular embodiment, the pull-tabs create a half-moon shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a plastic bag that includes pull-tabs in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a plastic bag that includes pull-tabs attached thereto to assist in the opening of the bag for the insertion of items. The present invention helps to ease the opening up the bag and provides a safe and sanitary opening means for a flexible plastic bag.

In reference to FIG. 1, a plastic bag 10 according to the present invention is provided. The plastic bag 10 includes a body portion 12 and a zip enclosure 15. At the top edge of the plastic bag 10 above the zip enclosure 15 two pull tabs 14 a, 14 b extend from the edge to provide a means to open the plastic bag 10. The plastic bag 10 includes the pull tabs 14 a, 14 b that extend from the top edge but are off center from each other in order to clearly separate the tabs and provide a means to access the tabs for opening the plastic bag 10.

The tabs 14 a, 14 b may be used to separate the top opening of the plastic bag 10 above the zip closure 15. A user may grab the tabs 14 a, 14 b and extend the opening of the plastic bag in order to insert contents into the body portion 12 of the plastic bag. The tabs 14 a, 14 b have a half moon type shape and are positioned off center from each other to easily designate or separate each tab from the other. The instant invention has been shown and described in what it considers to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made there from within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. 

1. A plastic bag for a storage and transporting of items comprising: a. a body portion; b. an opening at one end of the body portion; c. a zip enclosure, where said zip enclosure seals the opening; and d. two pull tabs, where said two tabs lie at the top edge of the plastic bag above the zip enclosure and extend from the edge to provide a means to open the plastic bag.
 2. The plastic bag according to claim 1, where said pull-tabs are positioned off center from each other in order to clearly separate the tabs.
 3. The plastic bag according to claim 1, where said pull-tabs create a half-moon shape. 